activated nuts

Hey everyone, sorry I have been a bit quiet on cyberspace. I’ve been cooking, lots of cooking. I got Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar Book after hearing great recommendations from friends. So Jan 4th I took the plunge and started my sugar detox. (mind you, it is now May and I am finally publishing this post! ;-))

Week 1.

I started with the activated nuts + granola. It took ages to do and the activated nuts smelled funky in the oven but the outcome was amazing. I loved the granola! I was not able to find malt rice syrup and got barley rice syrup which will be a favorite in the cupboard once I am allowed to incorporate a little sugar back into the diet.

I had a headache on the 3rd day in and woke up with it in the morning. It was not fun. I persisted with drinking water, herbal teas, and no pain-killers.

I also been making bone broth every week, so I continue drinking that whenever possible.

The rest of the week, I was more conscious of my sugar intake and started a food journal to keep track. I ate the same amount of veggies as my normal days (3-8 a day) and fruit BUT I did up my protein intake.

Week 2.

I made meffy muffins. I, of course being a food experimenter and hacker, made an italian sausage recipe. I made the recipe without brown sugar, and it was AMAZING. I made enough to store in the freezer for the following week.

The other recipe I made was the kale sausage stir-fry. I was a bit bleh on the the beets-not really my favorite veg unless its masked in baked goods. I also added a bit of red onion for a bit in my stir-fry.

Kale sausage stir-fry. I loved it but added red onion into it to give it a bit of a bite.

Week 3.

Oh my!…Leek fennel soup. A favorite. A hint of veggie sweetness and fennel seeds, did i mention you put bacon into it? Yum.

Recipe fail? The sweet potato lentil soup. I didn’t like the combination of spices and sweet potato.

So far so good, the detox is going well, and I find my snacking has stopped. I’ve had very little desire to grab something like chips (crisps) or chocolate.

This week was also the “Quitting” week. It was no fruit, no jam, honey, chocolate, dried fruit. Nada. Surprising I followed the book and stayed on course.

Week 4.

I had a teeny set-back this week as I had to go to a charity afternoon tea. I couldn’t resist the amazing meal and teeny desserts. The headache followed shortly after. Migraines are not fun. I drank load of water to flush it out immediately.

I made the courgette cheesecake. Nice, very cheesy, I would recommend adding the dill to your taste. I did 3 instead of her recommended 4.

I made the fennel leek soup again, love it, gotta have it.

I also found and made the most amazing Italian tomato sauce because this girl has to have Italian food once a week! Here is the recipe. Click here.

I also made the Spinach and Fennel Smoothie. That was a recipe fail for me because it was too much cucumber, it overpowered the smoothie and I even added coconut water but still found it difficult to drink.

Then, I had another slight fall back this week, I have a handful, okay..okay TWO handfuls of dark chocolate chips because well, once a month I have a moment where I just need the hit of chocolate. Ladies, you should know what day I am referring to. And I then, had an orange because I bloody miss my fruit! The headache that soon followed was not nice. It lasted 8 hrs, I tried drinking water and bone broth but finally had to take a pain killer =( to get rid of it. Lesson of the day? Stay on the detox =no crazy headaches.

Week 5

I made the Cheesy green misc-mash soup. I thought the whole lemon provided too much acid for the soup so I edited it and put in only 1/5 of the lemon and a bit more cheese. It turned out really nice. I am looking forward to eating it with my lunches this week. I made enough for 5 days and enough leftover to stick in the freezer for lazy weeks when I am too tired to cook.

I also took some more activated nuts I store in the freezer from week one and made some Tamari soy sauce with Salsa en Polvo ( a lemon and chili spice from Picado, this amazing Mexican store in Dublin. Just to make sure I am sorted on snacks, I used the same spices to make chickpea snacks in the oven with lime juice. It came out brilliantly.

I am also planning on making something not in the book as I have been craving carbs since doing this detox. I made garlic cheesy zucchini bread to go with the soup.

When I was craving something sweet at night, I made myself some Chai tea with coconut milk or just hot coconut milk from the stove with a pinch of cinnamon and sea salt.

Week 6.

This was the week to add back some sweetness but as it was Valantine’s Day I also made some sweets for my sweetie and used honey to make him some matcha white chocolates with a white chocolate hemp macadamia nut filling. I also made some protein nut balls with a dash of honey. The recipes will be in my cookbook.

I made some raspberry ripple, I found it to be super tasty and hit the spot.

I made loads of soup this week. This time I used my friend recipe of bone broth, kombu, lemongrass, onion, ginger, chili flakes. It was so nice and I topped it with crabmeat. Definitely a keeper.

I also noticed that on this detox I have consumed an insane amount of cheese and cheese products, not a bad thing since I love cheese.

The one recipe fail this week was the breakfast casserole with turnips and sausage. The turnip was a bit much for me in the am. Although I like turnips, this recipe has turned me off of them for a while. The only saving grace was, it was fun picking out the sausages to eat with my toddler.

Week 7.

I made sausage stir-fry dish again, and made less beetroot. I used the garlicky kale I saved in the freezer.

I noticed I have been using my freezer more efficiently with extra stored meals and pre-cooked ingredients.

Week 8.

Oh its been almost 60 days! Things I’ve noticed: less snacking and more conscious eating. I find myself full faster and don’t push myself to breaking point where it hurts to stand up after eating. I have had a few lapses and noticed after that, I usually crave more of the sweet stuff. I am pretty able to talk myself off that cliff, but sometimes we all need a little something sweet. But I do try to make it a healthier option.

Lastly, about this detox and diets in general. We grab the stuff we shouldn’t eat because subconsciously we don’t want to miss out. People don’t like missing out on an opportunity. We think this might be the end all be all of brownies, biscuit, chocolate, cake, ice-cream, etc. But in reality, there are always opportunities to eat sweets, remember that and it may save you from a snack attack.